DIY Tabletop Fountains

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my wonderful readers. Today may technically be a holiday for lovers, but I'm so grateful for all of you and your delightful comments that I include you in my warm thoughts today. :)

Recently, when commenting on one of Sonya's post, I mentioned a tabletop fountain that I have in my bedroom. Now, I love my bedroom. Really love. It's a simple, peaceful, uncluttered space that I look forward to retreating to each evening for my meditation. Plants and inspiring books surround me, and I am completely at home here. I believe everyone should have a space that speaks to them as my bedroom does for me. Anyhoo, when I mentioned my fountain I was met with interest from several lovely women whose blogs I now follow, and have managed to pull together a tutorial on how to make your own. It's super easy once you have the supplies and you can get as creative or as simple as you'd like. It's like having a babbling brook in your home... lovely. :)

Here is the fountain in my bedroom, disassembled. The only two things that you really need are a small fountain pump and some plastic tubing to fit the pump. You can probably find both at the local hardware store. The pumps usually cost around $20.00 each, but the tubing is super cheap. I've also seen the pumps online if you can't seem to find one locally, and my mother has even come across one or two at yard sales. Other than that, the fountain design is all up to you! I recommend a deep bowl like I have here, it holds a lot of water. I have small 'filler stones', and than another bowl of larger stones collected from the beach. A little stone sculpture that my mom made, a Buddha statue, a copper elbow and another small bowl.





This is a small fountain pump. See the little gray switch on the front? It adjusts the force/flow of water. When I'm making a fountain I often have to put the entire thing together and test the water strength. Too much and it splashes everywhere, too little and it just kind of trickles out.

 

Place the pump in the bowl, they usually have little suction feet to keep them in position



 

 Attach the plastic tubing to the pump. You'll need to cut the tubing to your desired length, depending on your design

 



You'll need a base of some sort, to protect the fountain pump and to keep all of the stones in place. I found an old planter base that fit perfectly. Scott drilled several holes, one for the tubing and the others to allow the water to drain back down

  

 This is the base in a fountain my sister made for me. She used a foam sheet, cut to size with holes where needed. The pros? You can cut it yourself without the need of power tools. The cons? It's styrofoam. :(



Here are my smaller, filler stones. They cover the base completely, no need for ugly plastic peeking through!



One day I tagged along with Scott on a trip to Lowes. I wandered the plumbing aisles and found this little copper elbow. It was perfect. :) I contemplated shining it up again, but I like the weathered look of it.





Here's where I add in all of my hand-selected beach stones. When we go camping every summer we spend each evening at the beach, walking, swimming... and collecting. We often have a large supply when we get back home, enough to last us until next year anyway!



Now you add in your personal details, whatever strikes your fancy. I had some small plants in here for awhile, but ended up having to remove them. They did look really nice, but made cleaning the fountain more challenging. I move and shift and rearrange until it feels just right.



I love my little Buddha, he keeps me company while I meditate. :)



Fill it with water, plug it in and assess your creation. When I make fountains this process takes me longer than all the others combined! I take it apart over and over to adjust the water flow, rock placement, pump placement... You'll want to make sure it isn't splashing, rock placement can take care of this sometimes, or you may need to lower the water flow. It's important to make a small loop in the cord, tied together to prevent water from reaching the electical socket. I always like to make sure the cord is hidden, seeing it kind of takes the natural beauty out of it for me.

Here's the fountain that my sister made for me, I adore it!

And so, there you have it. Easy, right? Over the years my girls have made them too, it's a fun project to do together. I remember several long afternoons spent with my sister and my mom creating fountains, and they've lasted for years, bringing me much joy along the way. When I water the plants each week I refill my fountain. You lose quite a bit of water to evaporation and you don't want your pump to run dry. My fountain stays pretty clean, but you can run a capful of hydrogen peroxide through it on occasion. Once or twice a year I just take the whole thing apart, scrub it clean and put it back together.

I found some photos on the Internet, just to give you an idea of how creative you can get

Source

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Source I made one similiar to this design once, it was lovely

Wishing you all a lovely evening. If anyone decides to create a fountain, please, please share the photos! I'd love to see. :)

Peace & blessings ~ Melinda